“They desperately wanted an heir and a grandchild. It was a privilege to be able to help them.

“What we did is not available in the UK, where gender-selection also isn’t legal.”

Dr Smotrich said the couple were very specific about the egg donor and surrogate, and they wanted someone who matched the kind of woman they believed their son would have married and had children with.

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AFTERLIFE: The couple are said to have made the decision within days of their son's death

The pair are said to have returned to Britain after they were named the boy’s legal parents.

Around five IVF babies a year are born in the UK after their fathers’ deaths.